Can-opener



(No Model.)

C. SGHWBRDTFEGER.

GAN'OPENER.

NITE

CARL SOHVVERDTFEGER, OF' SPRINGFIELD, OHIO.

CAN-OPENER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 307,991, dated November 11, 1884.

Application filed May 13, 1884.

To all whom it. 11i/ay con/cern,.-

Be it known that I, CARL SCHWERDTFEGER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Springeld, in the county of Clark and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Can-Openers; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it ap-v pertains to make and usev the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to that class of canopeners in which the knife-carrier is arranged to be rotated upon a fixed pivot adapted for Vertical adjustment upon any suitable support. y

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is an elevation of myimproved can-opener. Fig.

2is a like view illustrating means whereby the cutting-edge of the knife is brought into an absolutely horizontal position when the knifecarrier has reached the limit of its downward movement. Figs. 3 and 4 are sections taken, respectively, on lines x x and y y of Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 5 is an elevation of the sleeve A from theside opposite to that shown in Fig. 4,' and Fig. 6 is a diagrammatical View illustrating the cut as made by a knife having its axis at right angles to the carrier.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts wherever such may occur in the above figures of drawings.

So far as I am aware, in can-openers of this class the connection between the knife and its carrier or operating-lever has always been made with the axis of the knife at right angles to the axis of the lever, hence at right angles to the axis of rotation, the cutting-edge of the knife lying in planes varyingfrom forty degrees to sixty degrees to said axis of rotation. With such a construction but a very limited portion of the cutting-edge is made available relatively to the depth of the cut, since it is desirable in most cases that the depth of the cut should not be much greater than the thickness of the sheet metal to be cut through, in order that the contents of the can may be preserved intact. Besides this, in the operation of cutting,the cutting is effected on (No model.)

lines nearly at right angles to the axis of rotation, thereby tending to push the can from under the knife, as shown in Fig. 6, where thek a line 14 at right angles to the axis of the operating-lever.

The object of this invention is to obviate these inconveniences by applying the knife to its operating-lever so that in the function thereof a draw cut will be produced, the tendency of which is to draw the can toward instead of pushing it away from the knife, and to make the entire cutting edge available during the operation of cutting.

S is a standard, which by preference I make round, though it maybe made of any other suitable or desired form, said standard being secured to a suitable base, B, upon which the can is placed. The standard carries a sleeve, A, adapted to slide freely thereon, said sleeve being secured to the standard at any desired elevation by means of a set-screw, C. The sleeve is provided with a slot, a, in which is pivoted the lever L, that carries the cutter or knife K.

As shown in Fig. 1, the connection between the cutter and carrier is such that the axis of the former will lie in a plane at an angle of about sixty degrees to the axis of the carrier, and the cutting-edge at an angle of about thirty-ve degrees. rIhe angle of the cuttingedge may vary from about thirty degrees to forty degrees, but not more. When the connection of the knife with its carrier or operating-lever is such as described, inits operation the cuttingedge thereof will practically move toward a plane parallel with the horizontal diameter of the circle described by said knife, so that the entire cutting-edge thereof from c to c', Fig. 1, is made available instead of a limited portion thereof only, as from c to 1, Fig. 6, where the axis of the knife is at right angles to the axis of its carrier or lever.

The advantage of the described arrangement of knife relatively to its carrier or lever, as shown in Fig. 1, will be obvious to any one.

This action of the cutting-edge of the kniferoo,

that is to say, its movement to a line praetically parallel with the horizontal diameter of the are of the circle described thereby-may be absolutely effected by causing the knife to move in an arc of a circle independently of its carrier or lever, in which case the cuttingedges on lines at an angle to each other may both be made available, thereby still further increasing the efficiency of the knife by increasing the length of the cut made, one of the cutting-edges lying in an absolutely horizontal plane when the lever has reached the limit of its downward movement, thus effecting a draw cut also, which tends to draw the can toward the knife, instead of pushing said can away from the said knife. This construction is plainly shown in Fig. 2. In -this case the knife is fulcrumed upon the lever at lc and moves 'on a guide-pin, Z, secured to the lever andI passing through a segmental slot. k2, formed in said knife, the edges of the slots being segments of circles drawn from the fulcrum k. At its rear end the knife K is provided with a tooth or dog, 7c3, that plays in a notch, a', the upper and lower edges, a2 a3, of

which are inclined at an angle of about thirty degrees -to the horizontal diameter of the are' of the circle described by the lever, said notch being formed in a flange projecting laterally from the sleeve A4 on one side of the slot a, in which the lever L is pivoted. The knife is thus caused to rotate through an arc of a circle eccentric to that through which the lever L rotates, thereby bringing the cutting-edge c c into a horizontal plane when the lever and knife reach a given position on the respective arcs of circles described by them on their pivots, the movement of the lever being limited by the lower edge of slot a, and that of the knife by the like edge of the slot c As shown in dotted linesin Fig. 2, when the lever L has reached the limit of its downward movement in the slot, indicated by dotted lines a4, the cutting-edge from c to c will lie in an absolutely horizontal plane, and whenever the depth of the cut is not to be taken into consideration the cutting-edge from c to c2 Vmay also'be made available, thereby increasing the length 'of cut materially. Said cutting-edge from c' to c2 is preferably made segmental, the segment being an arc of a circle having the fulcrum k as its center, as the vtendency would be to push the can away from 2. In a can-opener, the combination, substantially as herein described, with a cutter or knife provided with two cutting-edges formed at an angle to each other, pivoted to said carrier, and rotating therewith in a plane eccentric to the plane of rotation thereof, for the purpose specied.

3. The combination,with the slotted sleeve A, provided with the notch a', and the lever L, pivoted in the slot of said sleeve and carrying the guide-pin or stud l, of the slotted cutter or knife K, pivoted to said lever and provided with a dog or tooth, k3, substantially as described, for the purpose specified.

4. The combination, with the slotted sleeve A, provided with the notch a', and the lever L, pivoted in the slot of said sleeve and carrying the guide-pin or stud Z, of the slotted cutter or knife K, provided with a dog or tooth, k3, and cutting-edges c c and c c", substantially as described, for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CARL SCHW'ERDTFEGER.

Witnesses:

GEORGE B. SMITH, PATRICK FIrzsrMoNs. Y 

